Page 29 of Bait Wolf
“Don’t talk about him like that,” I growled, and Everest chuckled again.
“Was it good? Life changing? Seymour said it was life changing.”
He waited, showing no signs of leading me wherever we were supposed to go, and finally, I caved.
“The best ever,” I sighed.
Everest whooped.
“So, the stories are true? How do you feel? Are you a new person? Is it unbearable being apart? Is your soul whole again?”
He had tears in his eyes because apparently mocking my newfound happiness was reallythatfunny.
“All one hundred percent correct,” I agreed, not cracking a smile. “The only thing ruining it is not having my daughter with me.”
Everest grimaced, finally pulling his grin back.
“Sorry, sorry. Let’s go get her.”
He patted me on the shoulder as he led me down the street.
In many ways, the business district of Lunar City known as Shadow Alley to locals was just as shady as the name implied.
Skyscrapers towered over us, blotting out the morning sun as Everest led me from our meeting point at a nearby intersection and onto a smaller side street where the buildings didn’t reach as high.
The streets here were clean and broad, nothing like the scene in “the valley,” as it was called. It was the roughest, most degenerate part of the city, sandwiched between the high-scale businesses of Shadow Alley and the penthouses that overlooked the water on the other side.
For new visitors to Lunar City, the juxtaposition of the absolute edges of society only a block from the immense wealth of the upper class was hard to come to terms with.
Having lived here my whole life though, I didn’t even bat an eye at the quick decline in the neighborhood as we walked toward the valley.
Even the crowd began to change from the upright businessmen of Shadow Alley. Beggars sat in the doorways of the businesses here and those unlucky enough to work on this street had to step over them to get inside.
I caught sight of Seymour standing at the doorway to one somewhat rundown building. His large form was hard to miss.
Like all of the fighters on our team, he was a big guy and not just in stature. He was muscular too and had a right hook that could take out anyone.
Until he’d found his mate, he’d been unstoppable in the ring. Now, he mostly held pads for the rest of us while we trained.
I could sympathize. Finding your mate changed your perspective on things. In one night, I already had a lot to think about.
But all of that would have to wait until later.
“Hey buddy,” Everest said, clapping hands with Seymour as we reached him.
“How are you?” he asked, hitting my shoulder in greeting. He said it casually, but his sharp gaze looked straight through me.
I shrugged and that seemed to say it all.
“Alright. Let’s go see my guy,” he said, holding the door open for us.
We entered the shabby, carpeted lobby, which smelled mildly of mold, and went straight to the elevator.
“It's a weird one,” Everest said to me once we were moving. “I want to tease you and get all the juicy details about your new mate, but then there’s Asha’s kidnapping putting a damper on the situation.”
Seymour huffed.
“How come you never asked about me and Glen?” he demanded.
